Fire Engulfs Downtown Crawfordsville Corner

by Jim Amidon • May 8, 2007
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An early morning fire erupted in the building Wabash men have known as "Tommy's" -- The Silver Dollar Bar -- and quickly spread to the old "New York Shoe Shop" in downtown Crawfordsville. The blaze spread quickly throughout the building's upper level apartments and both buildings were destroyed.

News reports indicate the fire began in the Silver Dollar Bar around 3:30 a.m. The bar and former New York Shoe Shop are located on the corner of Northwest corner of Pike Street and U.S. 231, across from Lincoln Bank. The New York Shoe Shop held at least a dozen apartments on upper floors, all of which have burned before Crawfordsville and surrounding fire departments could bring the blaze under control. Crawfordsville's fire chief is Wabash alumnus Todd Barton ’00.

Firemen were called to the scene shortly after 3:30 a.m. and fought flames well into the morning rush hour, forcing through traffic to surrounding side streets. Employees of the Silver Dollar Bar (a.k.a. Tommy's, a.k.a. Carl's) called 911 not long after the bar had closed. Smoke damage has been reported throughout the block, but firefighters appear to have saved the J.M. Thompson Building and others in the same block.

Three Indianapolis television crews began providing live aerial views around 5 a.m. Tuesday and continued through the day.